Despite fliers claiming otherwise, an anti-police brutality group won't be gathering Sunday within the Cesar Chavez Library's community room, according to library staff.

Instead, they'll be protesting outside, said Edgar Cruz, a group organizer.

Billed as a "public event," the group calls for justice in the wake of unidentified Salinas police officers fatally shooting four men so far this year. The flier references "another outbreak of police brutality in Salinas."

Advertising for the 2 p.m. Sunday event began circulating earlier this month. However, library staff confirmed Friday the group absolutely won't be allowed to use the community room.

Nancy Quintaro, whose job entails booking the community room, called it a "misunderstanding." Deputy Librarian Carissa Purnell Vallecillo said the group had only partially submitted all the necessary paperwork to book the room.

When she attempted to gather more information, Purnell Vallecillo said the organizer proved evasive. Her suggestion that the group remove the image of a police officer drawing his weapon from the flier fell on deaf ears, she said.

"What kind of message is that promoting to the children of the east side?" she asked. "And they [the forum organizers] wouldn't identify themselves as a group. It was kind of fishy."

Cruz answers the Google Voice phone number provided on the flier. Cruz said he is a Salinas resident working with other community members to pull together the event.

Last week, Cruz said he was readying himself for the forum and had been in contact with interested parties in Monterey and Sacramento. Friday, he said the group's plans changed when the library wouldn't accommodate the forum.

"We got shut down by the city so now we're going to have a protest because they didn't allow us to use the library," he said.

A protest is exactly what Purnell Vallecillo said she fears. She mentioned a protest that turned violent in the wake of Carlos Mejia's death May 20 at North Sanborn Road and Del Monte Avenue. During the protest, a bystander was fatally shot and a responding police officer was knocked out by a bottle as he attempted to render CPR to the dying man.

"I don't want to see things get out of hand," Purnell Vallecillo said. "We had all those protests and that riot. I don't want that to happen at the library."

She added, "Plus the language (in the flier) is a little aggressive."

The flier, which The Californian received Aug. 5, describes Angel Ruiz, Osman Hernandez, Frank Alvarado and Mejia — the four killed by Salinas police officers this year — as "innocent men that were gunned down by cops."

Salinas police Chief Kelly McMillin reiterated his frustration during a Thursday night forum that the four men have been described in the community as "victims."

"To characterize the people who were shot as innocent victims is a disservice," he said. "To call the Salinas police officers who were involved in these things 'killers' is a disservice and, frankly, an insult."

Quintaro and Purnell Vallecillo said the group can meet off-site near the library.

"But for the safety of the library and the people inside, it's not happening in the community room," Purnell Vallecillo said.

Cruz said Friday the protest would remain peaceful. The group's messages, which are included on the flier, include "Let the community speak," "Not one more death," and "Stop police brutality." All will be written and broadcast in Spanish, he said.

He wouldn't identify the name of his group, only saying, "We're just kind of sticking with, 'Not one more death' and 'Stop police brutality.'"

More than 400 fliers have been passed out and the event has been posted on Facebook, Cruz said.